"It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again"
-See You Again, Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth
CAROLINE NEVER THOUGH SHE WOULD BE ATTENDING HER BROTHER'S FUNERAL.
In her mind, death was so far away that it had never occurred to her that there would someday be a point where one of the twins was left without the other. They were Callie and Will, William and Caroline, the inseparable pair.
But now, standing in a black dress that she had had to borrow from Nancy Wheeler, hair pulled back into a french braid, staring down at the coffin holding her brothers body, it was suddenly a terrifying reality.
Even though she knew that he was still alive, she didn't know if they would be able to get him back.
And someday, this would all be for real.
"'Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.' It's times like these that our faith is challenged. How, if He is truly benevolent... could God take from us someone so young, so innocent. It would be easy to turn away from God... but we must remember that nothing, not even tragedy, can separate us from His love. We are here today to find comfort in the truth of scripture and to surround Will and his family... "
Jonathan was holding his mother up while the boys surrounded Caroline. Dustin was standing behind her, occasionally rubbing her back and Mike and Lucas held her hands. Lucas ran his thumb across her hand and she tried to ignore the jolt of electricity that ran between them.
Sniffling turned kid's heads to see Jennifer Hayes crying. Caroline hadn't seen her since Jennifer's sleepover party. The one that had left Will all alone to try to get home.
"Just wait till we tell Will that Jennifer Hayes was crying at his funeral," Dustin whispered into Caroline's ear. The boys all grinned until Karen Wheeler leaned over and shushed them.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, the funeral was over. People approached the Byers, giving their condolences, while Lonnie pretended that he cared. Caroline still couldn't believe that he was back. He didn't care about Will, that much she knew for certain. So what did he want?
"Mr. Clarke?" Mike asked from his seat. The kids were sitting at one of the tables during the reception.
"Oh, hey, there." Mr.Clarke smiled sadly at them. "How are you kids holding up?"
Dustin was munching on cookies while Caroline glared at him.
"Do you ever stop eating?" She said irritably.
Lucas sighed wearily before looking at their teacher. "We're... in... mourning."
"Man, these aren't real Nilla Wafers," Dustin muttered.
"We just buried my brother and you're worried about the value of your cookies?" Caroline said.
"We were wondering if you had time to talk?" Mike interrupted.
"We have some questions," Lucas said.
"A lot of questions," Caroline added.
Mr. Clarke sat down at the table, ready to listen.
"So," Mike began, "you know how in Cosmos, Carl Sagan talks about other dimensions? Like, beyond our world?"
"Yeah, sure," Mr.Clarke said. "Theoretically."
"Right, theoretically," Mike said hurriedly.
"So, theoretically, how do we travel there?" Lucas asked
Mr.Clarke sat back, looking relieved. "You guys have been thinking about Hugh Everett's Many-Worlds Interpretation, haven't you? Well, basically, there are parallel universes. Just like our world, but just infinite variations of it. Which means there's a world out there where none of this tragic stuff ever happened."
"Yeah, that's not what we're talking about," Lucas said.
"Oh..." Mr. Clarke trailed off awkwardly.
" We were thinking of more of an evil dimension, like the Vale of Shadows. You know the Vale of Shadows?" Dustin asked as he munched on another cookie. Caroline snatched it out of his hand and shoved it in her own mouth instead.
"An echo of the Material Plane, where necrotic and shadow magic." Mr.Clarke said.
"Yeah, exactly." Mike sat forward eagerly. "If that did exist, a place like the Vale of Shadows, how would we travel there?"
"Theoretically," Lucas added quickly.
"Well... " Mr.Clarke picked up one of the flimsy paper plates and began to draw a rough diagram with his pen. "Picture... an acrobat... standing on a tightrope. Now, the tightrope is our dimension. And our dimension has rules. You can move forwards, or backwards. But, what if... right next to our acrobat, there is a flea? Now, the flea can also travel back and forth, just like the acrobat. Right?"
"Right."
"Here's where things get really interesting. The flea can also travel this way... along the side of the rope. He can even go... underneath the rope."
"Upside down," Caroline whispered.
"Exactly," Mr.Clarke confirmed.
"But we're not the flea," Mike realized. "We're the acrobat."
"In this metaphor, yes, we're the acrobat," Mr.Clarke agreed.
"So we can't go upside down?" Caroline's brows furrowed.
Mr. Clarke shook his head. "No."
"Well, is there any way for the acrobat to get to the Upside Down? " Dustin pressed.
"Well... you'd have to create a massive amount of energy. More than humans are currently capable of creating, mind you, to open up some kind of tear in time and space, and then... " Mr.Clarke stabbed his pen right through the plate, "you create a doorway."
"Like a gate?" Caroline clarified.
"Sure. Like a gate," Mr.Clarke looked at the kids sternly. "But again, this is all-"
"Theoretical," Lucas nodded.
"But... but what if this gate already existed?" Mike asked.
"Well, if it did, I... I think we'd know. It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment. Heck, it might even swallow us up whole. Science is neat. But I'm afraid it's not very forgiving."
It sure isn't, Caroline thought bitterly. It sure isn't.
"It would take a lot of energy to build a gate like this. But that's got to be what happened. Otherwise, how'd Will get there, right?" Mike was trying to explain the diagram Mr. Clarke had shown them to Eleven.
"Right." El nodded understandingly.
"What we want to know is," Caroline looked at her, "do you know where the gate is?"
El shook her head quickly.
"Then how do you know about the Upside Down?" Lucas demanded.
Dustin was pacing back and forth, holding a compass.
"Dustin, what are you doing?" Mike asked. "Dustin? Dustin!"
"Dustin!" Lucas yelled.
"I... I need to see your compasses," Dustin stammered.
"What?"
"Your compasses. All of your compasses, right now!"
Caroline dug hers out of her pocket and lay it on the table along with the boy's.
The kids all looked at the compasses and then back at Dustin, who was wide-eyed with excitement.
"What's exciting about this?" Mike asked.
"Well, they're all facing north, right?" Dustin said.
"Yeah, so?" Lucas looked confused.
"Well, that's not true north.," Dustin explained.
"What do you mean?" Mike asked exasperatedly.
"I mean exactly what I just said. That's not true north. Are you both seriously this dense? The sun rises in the east, and it sets in the west. Right? Which means that's true north."
"So what you're saying is the compasses are broken," Mike rolled his eyes.
"No, they aren't," Caroline murmured. She was starting to understand what Dustin was getting at.
Dustin pointed at Caroline like she had won a game show. 'Do you even understand how a compass works? Do you see a battery pack on this?"
"No."
"No, you don't. Because it doesn't need one. The needle's naturally drawn to the Earth's magnetic North Pole."
"So what's wrong with them?" Lucas asked.
"Well, that's what I couldn't figure out, but then I remembered. You can change the direction of a compass with a magnet. If there's the presence of a more powerful magnetic field, the needle deflects to that power. And then I remembered what Mr. Clarke said. The gate would have so much power-"
"It could disrupt the electromagnetic field," Caroline jumped in.
"Exactly," Dustin agreed.
"Meaning, if we follow the compasses' north..." Lucas nodded.
"They should lead us to the gate," Dustin finished.
The kids sat in awe, already formulating plans.
They were going to get Will back.
Caroline barely registered that El was sitting silently on the couch, looking worried.
"How much further?"Caroline asked. She was feeling oddly tired and shaky.
Dustin didn't seem to notice. "I don't know. These only tell direction, not distance. You really need to learn more about compasses."
"I'm just saying," Caroline muttered. "How do we know when we get to the gate?"
"Uh, I think a portal to another dimension is gonna be pretty obvious."
"Do you think she's acting weird?" Lucas had been eyeing El for a while. The others followed his gaze.
"You're asking if the weirdo is acting weird?" Caroline asked.
"I mean, weirder than normal?" Lucas clarified.
"I don't know," Dustin shrugged. "Who cares?"
Caroline almost slipped and Lucas caught her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she tried to stand on her own, her legs feeling like jelly. "I just don't feel good."
"Do you want to stop?" Lucas looked worried. "Or I can go back with you."
"We're not going back," Caroline said sharply. "Every second we wait is another second Will is stuck in the Upside Down."
"Mike," Eleven said from the front.
"Yeah?" Mike turned to her.
"Turn back," she insisted.
"What? Why?"
"I'm tired," El said.
Mike sighed. "Look, I'm sure we're almost there. Just hold on a little longer, okay?"
They had been walking for hours, Caroline feeling worse every step, when suddenly Dustin groaned.
"Oh, no."
Lucas turned sharply. "'Oh, no'? What's, 'Oh, no'?"
"We're headed back home.," Dustin said in disbelief.
Mike wheeled around. "What?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Setting sun, right there. We looped right back around."
"And you're just realizing this now?" Caroline growled.
"Why is this all on me?" Dustin demanded.
"Because you're the compass genius!" Lucas shouted.
"What do yours say?"
Caroline, Mike, and Lucas looked at their compasses. "North."
"Makes no damn sense," Dustin muttered, glaring at the horizon.
Mike sighed. "Maybe the gate moved."
"No, I don't think it's the gate. I think it's something else screwing with the compasses," Dustin said quietly.
"Maybe it's something here," Mike said.
"No, it has to be like a super magnet.," Dustin said.
"It's not a magnet," Lucas said darkly. He glared at Eleven, who looked awfully guilty. "She's been acting weirder than normal. If she can slam doors with her mind, she can definitely screw up a compass."
"Why would she do that?" Mike demanded.
"Because she's trying to sabotage our mission. Because she's a traitor!" Lucas shouted.
Just then, Caroline's knees gave out and she collapsed onto the ground.
The boys ran over to her.
"Callie, what's wrong?"
"I- I can't..." Caroline could barely keep her eyes open. She felt colder than ever and completely drained. Dustin cradled her head in his lap as Caroline gasped for air. Lucas suddenly stood with a murderous look on his face and started walking towards Eleven.
"Lucas, what are you doing?" Mike demanded.
Lucas stood directly in front of El, who shrank back.
"You did it, didn't you?" He shouted. "You changed the compass! You made Caroline sick because you don't want us to reach the gate. You don't want us to find Will!"
"Lucas, come on, seriously, just leave her alone!" Mike said angrily.
"Admit it.," Lucas spat.
"No-" El said defiantly.
"Admit it!" Lucas grabbed Eleven's arm and checked her sleeve. "Fresh blood. I knew it."
"Lucas, come on!"
"I saw her wiping her nose on the tracks! She was using her powers!" Lucas yelled. He looked back at Caroline, who couldn't stand on her own.
"Bull!" Mike said defensively. "That's old blood. Right, El? Right, El?"
El started to cry. "It's... not... it's not safe."
"What did I tell you? " Lucas said furiously. "She's been playing us from the beginning!"
"That's not true. She helped us find Will!" Mike shoved Lucas.
"Find Will? Find Will? Where is he, then? Huh? I don't see him. She made Callie sick!"
"No," Eleven said. "I-I didn't."
"Just think about it, Mike." Lucas ignored Eleven. "She could've just told us where the Upside Down was right away, but she didn't. She just made us run around like headless chickens." He had gotten up in MIke's face now. Mike shoved him angrily.
"All right, calm down!" Dustin shouted. He was supporting Caroline, helping her walk over to the boys.
"No! Look at Caroline!" Lucas shouted.
"I don't think that was El, Lucas," Caroline managed to get out. "I think... I think Will is getting worse. Whatever happens to him happens to me too. Twintuition."
"That means that Will is stuck in there, getting worse," Lucas yelled. "She used us, all of us! She helped just enough so she could get what she wants. Food and a bed. She's like a stray dog."
"Screw you, Lucas!" Shouted Mike.
"No! Screw you, Mike. You're blind.. blind because you like that a girl's not grossed out by you. But wake up, man! Wake the hell up! She knows where Will is, and now she's just letting him die in the Upside Down."
"Shut up!"
"For all we know, it's her fault."
"Shut up!"
"We're looking for some stupid monster... but did you ever stop to think that maybe she's the monster?" Lucas was practically spitting in Mike's face now.
Mike snapped. "I said shut up!"
Mike leapt at Lucas, fists flying, pummeling each other, screaming profanities.
"Get off!" Caroline shouted. She pushed herself away from Dustin. "Mike, stop!"
"Stop!" El was screaming.
"Knock it off, you idiots!" Dustin tried to get them off each other, but it was no use.
"Stop it!"
"Mike, get off!"
Then Eleven let out a scream. "STOP IT!"
Suddenly Lucas went flying backwards and, to Caroline's horror, slammed his head into a rusty piece of metal.
"Lucas!" Caroline cried out, stumbling towards him.
"Jesus!" Dustin sprinted forward, closely followed by Mike.
"Lucas! Lucas! Lucas, are you all right?" Caroline knelt down next to him, trying to shake him awake.
"Lucas. Lucas, come on!" Dustin was in tears.
Caroline wheeled on Eleven, who was sobbing. "Why did you do that?!"
"Lucas, wake up! Lucas." Mike shook him, hard, their fight long forgotten.
"Come on, Lucas!"
Now Mike stood up and faced Eleven. "Why would you do that? What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you?"
Eleven merely sobbed, shaking her head, the blond wig blowing in the wind.
"Come on, wake up. Come on!" Dustin shouted, ignoring the fighting behind him.
"Lucas... Lucas, come on!"
Lucas's beautiful brown eyes snapped open and Caroline let out a cry of relief. She put her hands around his face, faming it, checking fro extra injuries.
Mike exhaled. "Lucas. Lucas, you okay?"
"Lucas... Lucas, how many fingers am I holding up?" Dustin asked. "Lucas, how many fingers?"
"Let me see your head," Mike said, reaching out.
"Get off of me!" Lucas shouted. He shoved Mike and Dustin backwards and stood up, holding the back of his head. He clutched Caroline's hand like it was a lifeline and pulled her behind him.
"Just... Lucas. Lucas, let me see," Mike pleaded.
"Get off me!" Lucas shouted.
"Lucas, come on."
But Lucas had stopped listening. He turned to Caroline, looking her over. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"
Caroline gaped at him. "I'm fine, Luke. Are you okay?"
Lucas didn't respond. He gently took her hand in his own and said, "Come on. I'm gonna take you home and go look for Will myself."
Caroline could hear Mike yelling after them, but Dustin was telling him, "Let him go. Man, let him go."
They had gotten out of the clearing when Caroline whirled around. "Eleven. Where did she go?"
"Who cares?" Lucas said. "She kept us from getting to Will. She's been using us."
"I don't think she has," Caroline realized. "Did you see how scared she looked? I think she was right. It might be really unsafe. How do we know we won't end up like Will? We're no good to him if we're dead."
Yes, it's the third chapter in three days! I've been bored out of my mind. Quarantine sucks. I've gone through three bags of shredded cheese this week and my therapist is concerned.
Comment and vote! Love you guys!